When did you Begin Investing?

[John Hjorth]

I started in 2011 @ 18. Back then my information channel consisted of MarketWatch, CNBC & Cramer (I followed him to CLR, a Bakken oil play). Focused on 'value' from the beginning, but that also meant that I saw opportunity in various commodity/macro stocks which gave me a good lesson about my 'competency'. Funny times.

 

After 2014 I started to focus on ever smaller companies and started to prefer balance sheet and asset plays (net-nets etc.) with the generalizing mentality that any investment thesis relating to a stock that trades at a premium to tangible book must include future forecasts regarding FCF which I am not good at.

 

In 2016 I read about Ethanex - http://www.becapitalmanagement.com/uploads/2/6/7/4/26748813/interview_by_chris_demuth_jr..pdf and started to look at the OTC market almost exclusively.

 

Hi Jan,

 

A belated and warm velcome here on CoBF to you.

 

Very intesting stuff, that you are working on. Exactly this topic here on CoBF proves to me, that the newbies of the past are the great investors of the present and the future. So, please don't be a stranger here on CoBF  going forward.

[SharperDingaan]

The very short history ...

 

Stage 1: I started investing at roughly 14-15 in Africa, as a brewer. Trained by an Indunas (Zulu village chief) wife, brewing native beers and wine in 44 gallon oil drums, and selling by the calabash to fellow students at an all male boarding school of 2000+. As a straight 'A' science and business student, the techniques of monopoly control/price gouging/and removing competition were learnt on the job, both product and cash-flow were awesome, and I quickly emerged as one of the top 3 'cartels' in the school. I learn't that independent thinking/leadership is key to whatever we do, cash flow is king, and that straight-up chutzpa isn't a bad second. At the time I had no idea these were also valuable investment skills.

 

Stage 2: Like many a 'draft dodger' before me I had to flee my home country at 18, find a new one in Europe/NA to 'adopt' me, learn a new way of doing things, decide what I wanted to do, and do all of it without any family being able to 'help' in any significant way. No money, living on your wits, few restraints, and the world at my feet. While NA students were doing thier undergrads I was getting a street smart education, meeting all kinds of interesting people, rising on my merits, and learning all kinds of tricks not taught in the textbooks. Excellent investment skills, but not recognized.

 

Stage 3. Welcome to Canada, and 5 years of petroleum engineering/undergrad school at the University of Calgary. Thoroughly enjoyed myself, tried my hand at investing in oil/gas, mining, booze, smokes, and banking - and got my ass kicked, repeatedly. Not amused - I kept ramping up the technical skills for 10 years plus, and it just got worse & worse while losses mounted. I was the worst investor ever; because there was zero guidance, and zero EQ. I had no idea what that even was.

 

Stage 4. CFA, financial services work/industry experience. The CFA forced discipline, but I faught the 'CFA Way' the entire way; a very long and painful education, that they eventually won. Then I fell into GE Capital during the Welsh years, and thrived; there's isn't much to match having a honking pot full of money, room to use it, and an old school boss enforcing control the old fashioned way. Suddenly investing fell into place overnight, everything turned to gold, and the problem became one of being overly aggressive. All it needed was guidance.

 

Stage 5. Over time we naturally get 'tamer' as we recognize that our decisions now affect others, our EQ improves, and so does our risk management. And the more 'street smart' you are, the better you are it. Part of that is the people around you, and we're blessed with linkages to some very direct and down to earth people.

 

We've done well, but we treat investing purely as an extension of managing the cheque-book. If we're running our business well we should be having fun, we should have annual surpluses, and we should be putting it into other opportunities where we think we have an advantage. We just have the additional advantage of being able to do it as either an operational, or purely a stock/bond investment. Our nephews get the advantage of guidance from a much younger age, while still retaining their freedoms.

 

No books,

I'm too busy changing the world through the use of block chain, smart contract applications ;) 

 

SD     

 

 

             

 

   

[John Hjorth]

Awesome! - Thanks a lot for taking the time to share, SharperDingaan.

[Spekulatius]

My first investment was a quarter of an ounce gold coin in  1979, which worked out well. I sold it for a 100% gain, close enough to the peak.

I bought another gold coin afte the correction, which actually trades cheaper than the  face value of its gold content, but that one didn’t work, And I barely broke even. Sometimes luck or timing beats valuation.

 

I bought my first Long term options in 1982 (BASF Optionsscheine) and sold for a 150% gain a year later. I should have kept those.

 

It has been downhill from there ever since...

[MarioP]

I began in sept 1987. So this month with all the remembrance of oct 87 crash I revive my beginnings. I learned early to be cautious and I got an idea of the necessity of a margin of security before reading the Intelligent investor. I saw that a year after the crash the good companies where back to the level the had before the crash so I also learned to not overreact to short term movements and have a longterm view. I discovered Buffett in 1993 and it really changed my life.

[bookie71]

About 1965 or 66 when I got out of college.  Started seriously in 1971 or 1972.  The first stock in 65 or 66 was Solitron Devices, luckily only a few shares as they tanked  a few months later.

[JanSvenda]

Hi Jan,

 

A belated and warm velcome here on CoBF to you.

 

Very intesting stuff, that you are working on. Exactly this topic here on CoBF proves to me, that the newbies of the past are the great investors of the present and the future. So, please don't be a stranger here on CoBF  going forward.

 

Hey John,

 

thanks for the reply and for the follow on TWTR! I have been lurking on CoBF for a while but will start contributing more often now.

 

Jan

[james22]

Began speculating (DELL) ~1995, shifted to index tilting (Small Value, quasi-commodities) ~2002, added jockeys (BRK/MKL/FRFHF) ~2008.

 

Like to believe I've been investing since ~2014, but because I've thought most everything overvalued since then, who knows?

[DocSnowball]

2009-2015 invested 50/50 in S&P 500 and emerging market index funds

 

Fall of 2015 studied Value investing as part of my MBA @ U Mass Amherst and have been investing in individual securities since.

 

Concentrated portfolio of only 3 core investments since then (two emerging pharma companies and fannie/Freddie preferred) a fun ride and a tremendous learning journey. Glad to have stumbled onto this message board when researching value investing resources.

 

The investment thesis that I ended up disconfirming like AAPL, FXI and PYPL have gone up by 50%-100% as well, so not sure what my skills have to do with anything. Just enjoying the experience of being a business owner!

[randomep]

 

So a lot of people have this story.

 

I started thinking I knew everything, lost it all. Then discovered the religion of Buffett/Graham, and now I am saved!

 

So my question is about the future or the expectations for the future.

 

Supposed you have been investing for around 20yrs.  First decade stumbled along, gained some in some bubble and lost a lot of it. Second decade you are more realistic, and are a true value disciple and can even claim to beat the market by a percent or two.

 

But life is a learning process and you are learning more than ever. So you are smarter than ever.  (That's kind of like my story).

 

So what do you expect then from the third decade. But the above reasoning, you can expect what? to beat the market by 3%?  That seems like a REAL stretch.  I'd like people's thoughts on this .... really, and maybe this belongs in another separate thread.

[Jurgis]

really, and maybe this belongs in another separate thread.

 

Belongs to a separate thread. Please start one.  8)